Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore-
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
This it is, and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door;-
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"-
Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore-
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-
'Tis the wind and nothing more!"
Assignment:
- Objective: Students will be able to identify the setting and tone of "The Raven" as well as create a prediction as to what happens next.
- Introduction: Students will arrive at class and notice a "QAR" chart on the board. I will explain to them that today's lesson will be covering Edgar Allan Poe in the spirit of Halloween approaching. First I will start a discussion by asking if any students know about Poe and his works.
- Model: I will start off reading the first paragraph of the selected section of the poem and pause for any questions. I explain to the class the poets use of rhythm, rhyme, and imagery, asking if they can identify any assonance, alliteration, couplet patterns, etc.
- Guided Practice: Students will continue the reading on their own, and then again popcorn reading each stanza. As they read through on their own, they will try their best to fill in the following QAR questions:
1) Where is this taking place?
2) What is the narrator doing?
3) Who is Lenore?
4) How might the narrator be feeling?
5) What might we be able to expect later in the poem?
Students will also write their own personal comments and related questions. After popcorn reading, we will go over the questions as a class and identify where in the text the author justifies our answers.
- Independent practice: Students will go home and re-read the poem with their new knowledge and write a paragraph determining if they're better understanding of the poem helped them feel as though they were in the poem.
Comprehension/Text Structure Activity
Question-Answer-Relationship (QAR)
An excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"
(find the full copy at http://poestories.com/read/raven)
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore-
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
This it is, and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door;-
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"-
Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore-
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-
'Tis the wind and nothing more!"
Assignment:
- Objective: Students will be able to identify the setting and tone of "The Raven" as well as create a prediction as to what happens next.
- Introduction: Students will arrive at class and notice a "QAR" chart on the board. I will explain to them that today's lesson will be covering Edgar Allan Poe in the spirit of Halloween approaching. First I will start a discussion by asking if any students know about Poe and his works.
- Model: I will start off reading the first paragraph of the selected section of the poem and pause for any questions. I explain to the class the poets use of rhythm, rhyme, and imagery, asking if they can identify any assonance, alliteration, couplet patterns, etc.
- Guided Practice: Students will continue the reading on their own, and then again popcorn reading each stanza. As they read through on their own, they will try their best to fill in the following QAR questions:
1) Where is this taking place?
2) What is the narrator doing?
3) Who is Lenore?
4) How might the narrator be feeling?
5) What might we be able to expect later in the poem?
Students will also write their own personal comments and related questions. After popcorn reading, we will go over the questions as a class and identify where in the text the author justifies our answers.
- Independent practice: Students will go home and re-read the poem with their new knowledge and write a paragraph determining if they're better understanding of the poem helped them feel as though they were in the poem.